At a time when there are talks of deep budget cuts to health and human services at the federal level, organizations like Crittenton Services need your support more than ever. For those supporters that care and strongly advocate for accessible and affordable children’s mental health, for example, please remember that mental health, in general, is not necessarily talked about in the ‘big’ healthcare debates.

Sadly, mental health is not prioritized as much as primary health but being able to achieve overall well-being (body, spirit, and mind) correlates to leading a healthier and longer lifespan. Mental health should be taken seriously in matters of funding and prevention efforts. It’s a win-win for the individual facing a mental health issue, the community and the nation as a whole.

Crittenton Services is a big supporter of prevention efforts in terms of breaking cycles of system involvement and creating healthier communities for all kids. Therefore, we strongly advocate for all members of our community to have access to quality and affordable mental health services when they are most needed. In particular, we pay special attention to advocating for children’s mental health and making sure that the most vulnerable children including those that come from a low-income or system-involved (foster care and juvenile justice) backgrounds are not forgotten in the discussion nor in the service delivery.

As is stands, the levels of untreated emotional trauma are higher in system-involved children than the average population due to their life circumstances. By default, they will require the most help in healing from the aftermath of abuse, neglect and toxic stress that can lead to a life of mental health disorders if left untreated. Leading to a possibility of a continued life pattern of dependency and generational system-involvement.

Oftentimes, when service gaps exist in the community nonprofits tend to lead. And Crittenton is proud to take on the cause of providing quality mental health services to system-involved children affected by a mental health diagnosis or mental health issues brought on by extreme forms of trauma, abuse or neglect.

It’s a commitment we’ve made long ago to our supporters and to the children and the families we serve. Being a part of the solution of creating a healthier and safer community for all children to thrive in is something our team truly believes in. We appreciate the help rendered by our supporters in the community because without your advocacy we simply can’t continue to advocate for children’s mental health causes.

With this kind of support, we are proud to mention, that Crittenton is honored to have received a challenge grant proposal from an anonymous donor earlier this year. The donor stated that they would happily provide matching funds of up to $100,000 if we prioritized fundraising in 2017 for our children’s mental health efforts in our InSight program – it’s the Crittenton program designed to help teen girls cope with the aftermath of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Without thinking twice we took the challenge! And with the support we continue to receive from everyday donors like ‘you’ it has been a real thrill to actively see our donations grow in support of children’s mental health at our organization. So, yes, every $1 you decide to give us today really does make a difference in helping a young girl cope with the abuse that was inflicted on her in the cruelest of ways.

Because of ‘you’ we have received nearly $50,000 from people of all walks of life that take interest in advocating for children’s well-being. And we are getting closer to our fundraising goal of $100,000 by the end of the year!

So, let’s keep on supporting local efforts to treat childhood trauma because together we can make a difference!

And most importantly, even if mental health funding suffers due to extreme budget cuts this year know that because of ‘you’ children’s mental health is still being prioritized and funded at the local level.

If you’re interested in supporting this challenge grant please connect with us at info@crittentonsocal.org

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Crittenton Services for Children and Families of Southern California (CSCF) is a non-profit social services agency whose mission is to heal the wounds of abuse and neglect; strengthen families; and help troubled adolescents reach their full potential. Established and incorporated in 1966 Crittenton has a highly trained workforce operating 24 hours a day / 7 days a week providing comprehensive mental health services, shelter care, and other support services to the clients in our care. We provide a full array of short-term residential services, in-home, community-based programming, wraparound family services, outpatient mental health, transitional age youth programming, foster care, and adoption services with a service planning area throughout Southern California that covers Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego Counties.